wrong guy
by Godric's quill22
Summary: Draco loved Harry but hated Ron. Ron hated Draco too so why was he helping him get Harry's attention? still m/m slash..don't like dont read
1. Chapter 1

Title: wrong guy

Writer: Godric's quill22

Genre: romance, Drama

Spoilers: none

Pairings: Draco/Ron

Disclaimer: only the plot if this fic belongs to me...all else; characters, back-story of character, location, etc, all belong to J. K. Rowling and her people and hence this story is written strictly for the purposes of fun and not for profit

Summary: Draco loved Harry but hated Ron. Ron hated Draco too so why was he helping him get Harry's attention?

Warnings: m/m slash…umm, that's about it.

Draco's had a crush on Harry since their third year. From the moment he had realized his feelings for the raven haired boy, his attitude towards him had changed because somehow, and by some invisible force, he couldn't find the strength to be mean to him.

If harry had noticed, he hadn't shown any indication at all of such knowledge and his character had remained as aloof as he could pull off.

It was a silly crush. He knew that, but that did nothing to stop him from loving the boy wonder more and more everyday as long as the feeling of pride that washed over him whenever the boy did something commendable.

He'd felt Harry's pain at the end of the Triwizard tournament when the boy had wept over Cedric's lifeless body after his encounter with the Dark Lord. His only wish was that his father would not notice his feelings for the boy. Who knew the consequences that discovery would bring.

He loved everything about the boy… well, except his friends. He still thought Hermione was a know- it- all nosy little witch, though he had to agree that she was really intelligent, there was no need for her to continuously rub it in people's faces.

And then there was the indisputable fact that the only person in the world he hated more than Hermione was Ron. The guy thought that just because he grew taller and masculine and buff means that all else should bow to him.

At least that's how he treated him. Harry sure knows how to pick them. Ron seems to suspect his feelings towards Harry as he kept making all these loose, cliffhanging statements that have his heart racing at extremely odd times.

The looks he sent across the hall at him was strictly predatory and enough to kill any kind of appetite he had prior. That Demon! Evil Weasley. He knew! He knew about his secret and has been holding it over his head since.

He couldn't believe how careless he had been. He should have been more careful with his feelings. The baffling thing is that Harry and Ron were always together – they were the proverbial "joined- at- the- hip" – yet Ron had noticed and harry hadn't. Or at least that's what he wanted him to believe.

Whatever it is, Draco's feelings had been kept bottled up and unrequited for too long. They were in their eighth year for crying out loud! Five years of carrying love in your heart and having no one to talk about it with. It was a forbidden love, he was aware of that. His father might have Avada Kedavra'd him or personally handed him over to the dark lord for Nagini's supper.

He didn't quite know how to approach it but he knew he had to tell someone. Anyone. Maybe Harry… maybe one of those stupid books called diaries that he has… his friends…or maybe he could _ascendio_ himself and shout it at the top of his voice for all to hear that he was madly and irrevocably in love with Harry potter and has been for a while

He was getting desperate and he knew he had to get it out soon before brain matter starts to ooze out of the pores and any other openings around his head. Oh Merlin, his head was about to explode.

He pushed an arm under his head as he lay on his bed, his free hand resting on the bag he'd packed for the trip. A trip to Dumstrung. That's what Dumbledore had said. A friendly visit to their brother school for a week long stay.

Spending an entire week in another school hadn't really been his plan and he had initially refused to go but had immediately changed hi mind when he'd heard Ron saying that Harry was going.

Normally, Harry didn't leave Hogwarts for such reasons but now he was, strangely, going. It seems he has intentions of enjoying his new found freedom after the defeat of the dark lord or maybe someone has convinced him to go.

Three guesses who had convinced Harry to go and he was certain he'd get it on the first try. He was pretty certain that Ron had revealed that information to him on purpose, wanting for him to hear it and act on it. Now he didn't know what Ron was up to and he'd prefer it if he didn't find out.

So far, he had been quite gentlemanly about his secret, not telling anyone about it even though he tortures him with those knowing looks! However, that entire incident suggests is that the redhead was playing cupid and matchmaker.

Who the hell asked him to? And why the hell was he doing it? Could it be that he felt the feeling was mutual and that Harry felt the same about him? He bolted up in bed, his heart beginning o beat at an odd rhythm. "God, I hope so" he muttered to himself, pushing his fingers into his hair to ruffle them up.

The morning of their departure, he could have sworn he saw Ron smiling at him but he just shrugged it off as his mind playing tricks on him.

He'd retreated into the far corner of the queue and joined the last group of people to activate their portkey. There was no way in hell he was going to use a portkey with Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger. That's like a suicide mission.

Upon arrival, the students were assigned to the quest dorms in Dumstrung. The boys had their rooms and so did the girls but they share the same common room. Draco's room was down the hall from Harry and Ron's room – apparently, even the staff at Dumstrung knew not to separate Ron from harry. Or maybe they'd had strict rules from Dumbledore pertaining that- , with only the room shared by Creevey and Seamus seperating them.

The rooms had one large bed and two people were to share it. He was so grossed out, he nearly went back to ask permission to return to Hogwarts but strangely, as seems to be the natural occurrence lately, he'd heard Ron telling harry to loosen up and that they might have some fun the next day.

He'd immediately returned to the room he shared with Blaise, took his bath and gone to sleep. No need to sit around and think or do anything stressful. Any attempt at having fun actually ends up making him very miserable instead.

He felt into a dreamless sleep and woke up a little more relaxed than he had been the previous night.

"This is going to be eternal" he groaned as he got up from bed and shuffled lazily into the bathroom.


	2. Chapter 2: motives and actions

**A/N: warning and all previous effects still apply to this chapter**

Wrong guy: Chapter 2 – motives and actions

As suspected and anticipated, time seemed to move at an excruciatingly slow pace. It was only the fourth day of their stay and Draco felt like he had been in the blasted place for an eternity!

He had barely had an encounter with Harry but for some reason, seems to spend too much time with Ron. They never discussed Harry or his feelings for the boy. Hell, they never talked about anything serious but for some reason, he remembers every conversation he ever had with the boy.

It was scary to think of Ron as a person who was capable of actually making real conversation without the taunts and jabs as well as the permanent cloud of suspicion and distaste. In fact, in short, Ronald Weasley seemed to be a totally different person outside of Hogwarts.

He was left wondering what else Ron was hiding from everyone else... Enough to make him sit alone at times and replay his memories just to be certain he wasn't missing something because the last thing he would have thought Ronald Weasley was, was an enigma but as it turned out, the boy was.

And here he was, thinking he had Ron all figured out. It just wasn't fair because now, he didn't know Ron's motives or at least, he's more confused than he was before when he thought he knew the thought processes of the boy.

Now he was doubting himself and doubting Ron more and more. He'd grown cautious of Ron, not entirely sure how to catch up with the boy now that he seemed to be on some sort of roll…an identity crisis or wait, did Ron Weasley have a multiple identity? And how many were there?

Three?

Four?

Oh god, what if they were like twenty of them!?

He groaned to himself, shaking his head at how crazy he felt all because of Ronald Weasley. Life just wasn't fair to him. He sighed and looked around him. They were all in the common room; well most of them, and it was their fifth night.

The room was quiet except for the occasional whispers between friends but he doesn't pride himself as a person with friends. He frowned as he watched Ron and Harry chatting and occasionally giggling at something the other said.

He watched on as the pair wrestled playfully, wide grins on their faces. Granger had retired to bed earlier, but knowing her, she's probably, sitting somewhere reading a book.

He watched the remaining two of the golden trio for a while, feeling jealousy rise in his throat as his hatred for Ron soared to new heights. He just couldn't believe that after spending four full days and five nights with Harry and only eighteen other people, they were yet to speak to each other.

It was as if the boy hadn't even noticed his presence. He stood up and walked as briskly as he could while still looking calm, out of the room, missing the look Ron shot after him.

On the sixth evening, he'd sat by Harry during dinner. Well, he'd sat by him, between him and Hermione and had surprisingly managed to remain silent throughout the meal. Harry was either too blind or refused to see.

By then, all initial rules that had been given upon their arrival were practically forgotten. Transfigured mattresses were laying around because it turns out , apparently he wasn't the only one who was totally grossed out at the idea of sharing a bed with someone, and people slept just about anywhere whether it was their room or not.

Surprising, the first person who had been expected to break the rules hadn't. Harry Potter, the master rule breaker actually turned out to be the most compliant of them all. A little peep into him and Ron's room revealed a very neat and orderly room.

No doubt Hermione walks in every three hours to throw some spells around.

Later that night after everyone had gone to sleep wherever they wanted to, he snuck into Harry and Ron's room. Their bed was bolted or spelled to the wall and it was just his luck that Harry chose to sleep by the flipping wall.

Light from the bright half moon outside streamed into the room, casting a luminous glow on the faces of both boys. If he'd be honest with himself, he'd admit that Ron looked equally handsome in his sleep with the way the moonlight caused artificial highlights of gold in his ginger-red hair.

_Two gods in one bed. This is one of those moments when I really believe that nature is not fair._ He mused and leaned over Ron to take a closer look at Harry. He didn't know what he'd say if he was caught but at the moment, he didn't really care.

Minutes later, his back was hurting from leaning over the bed without any form of support. He finally rested his fist cautiously on the bed and thought: oh God, I could stare at him forever

He thought he'd been careful, making sure he wouldn't be doing something as dire as this but his heart stopped beating when a hand gripped his fisted hand on the bed and he yelped in shock.

He looked down at the arm that was tightly clenching his and followed its path to Ron's shoulder where it joined the rest of his body. He tried to pull away but Ron only tightened his hold on him then without warning, he was yanked onto the bed beside Ron.

Ron wrapped an arm around the blonde's waist and made a show of going back to sleep even though he'd kept his eyes closed throughout the whole encounter.

Draco squirmed and tried to get out from Ron's arms but froze when he heard a silent: "shhh…" too close to his ear enough to send shivers down his spine.

"What?" he whispered back after a while when he was calm again.

Sleepily, Ron replied: "Just go to sleep before he wakes up and sees you staring at him like a fool. Do you want to look like a fool in front of the boy you love?"

Draco gasped, then after a while when Ron still said nothing, he muttered: "I can go back to my room. Why can't I just go back and sleep in my room with Blaise?"

Ron's arm around him tightened and he said: "I want you here tonight... Harry is here too, remember?" he'd seemed to add after a moment's thought.

Draco settled back into the warm, strangely comfortable embrace of Ronald Weasley. "Good night" he heard Ron mutter, and against his better judgment, he whispered "Sweet dreams" back. He listened and felt Ron's breath even out as it ghosted over the back of his neck then after a while, he drifted off to sleep.

He has always been a late riser and today was no exception. It was their last day in Dumstrung and he'd woken up in Ron and Harry's bed. Alone! His face heated up at the many horrifying scenarios that he contemplated. What if harry had woken up first and seen him literally spooning with Ron!? Jesus!

He got up quickly and fled the room, praying he'd find a permanent spot to hide in since it was their last day of stay in Dumstrung. Of course, life was never fair to him.

They were bombarded with activities, some were fun, others not so much and he had to go around all day with a damn blush on his perfect cheeks. When asked, he'd frowned and said his skin was developing a late reaction to the weather and that seemed to be enough reason for those dumb Slytherins he came there with. It didn't help that Ronald Weasley kept looking at him with humor as if he was the silliest kid on planet earth.

He went to bed abnormally early that night, refusing to stay awake longer before he got tempted again to sneak into Harry's room, his last and fervent prayer being that his torture be short and fast.

No one was happier than him when it came time for them to go back to Hogwarts. It was just so unbelievable considering he wasn't a fan of that place either but he supposed it was the lesser of two evils in this situation.

He sat – more like slumped - at the far end of the table during breakfast, fiddling with his food. Ron passed by him a first time on his way to join Harry and Hermione and dropped a note in his lap.

Draco opened the note, a frown creasing his features, and read: _"It's a communication medium. Harry has the other half. Use it any time at all and he'll answer you."_ His frown deepened, confusion evident on his face as he looked towards Ron, fixing a combination of a sneer and a glare on the boy.

Ron seemed to see that as his cue as he grinned, shook his head and made his way slowly to Draco and dropped a rolled up parchment in his lap. He didn't wait around, just walked out of the room.

He opened it and picked up the quill that came with it and sighed. "Let's take this Bentley for a ride, shall we?"

Timidly, his heart pounding in his chest, he wrote:** "hi…"** on the parchment and watched as it vanished. "So much for communication medium" he mused and folded the parchment, walking out of the hall to put it in hiss packed bag before shrinking it and putting it in his pocket.


	3. Chapter 3 realizations

**A/N: warnings and effects of previous chapters apply to this chapter too.**

Wrong guy – chapter 3: oh no he didn't!

They got to Hogwarts relatively quickly and he entered his private head boy quarters and locked the door. Almost immediately, with an anxiety of a two year old eating candy for the first time, he spelled his luggage back to its original size and pulled out the parchment and quill. He spread it open, attempting to put it on his table when he let out a surprised gasp because the words "hi to you too" were etched into the parchment.

The moment he read it, the words disappeared. "Wow this is going to turn out great after all…" he grinned and wrote**: it's me, Draco.**

**I know.** Was the only reply he got.

**Okay… who's this?**

**Who were you expecting?**

**Harry? Is that really you?**

**Yeah it's me alright…**

**Oh uh… I can't believe you're doing this**

**I'm not stupid, Malfoy. And even though I pretend to be dense most times, I do notice things that go on around me.**

**What are you saying?** Draco sat down on his bad, pulling a book and placing the parchment on it, waiting patiently.

**Oh please, you know exactly what I mean. There's no need for me to spell it out for you.**

**That's fair, I guess. And this parchment? How exactly does it work?**

**I think the instructions are pretty clear. Messages cannot be erased from it so you have to figure out what you want to write before you start writing because everything shows.**

**Oh well, where did you get it?**

**I made it.**

**You what?**

**I said I made it.**

**I find that kinda hard to believe.**

**Are you saying I'm stupid? Too stupid to create a magical artifact?**

**No no that's not what I meant. I promise that wasn't it**

**Calm down Draco. I was just pulling your legs. Besides, even if you meant it, I won't be bothered. You won't be the first one to think that.**

**I didn't mean that… I won't say you're smart, that's like Granger's spot. No one can dispute that, but you're not entirely dumb**

**That's actually funny. It's a nice way to say I'm dumb but compared to others, I'm okay.**

Draco laughed lightly, deciding to shift to a comfortable position and laying belly down on his bed before writing**: is that what you got from that?**

**Yeah… did it mean something else?**

**Could be that no one can be smart with Granger around. She's the weird one, raising the bar too damn high for anyone to follow or even try catching up.**

**She's my friend, you know that…**

**Oh yes it's a pity she's not rubbing off on you...** he chuckled lightly after that.

**You know that's not what I meant.**

**I know...** Draco sighed**. I say something that was supposed to offend you and you find it funny but I mention Granger and you're playing both offensive and defensive?**

**Like I said, she's my friend…**

**Hm. You're sure? Maybe you have a crush on her.**

**You mean like you do? **

Draco blushed scarlet before writing**. I never said that.**

**You didn't have to. I know you were staring at me the other night in my sleep**

Draco's eyes shot up, a gasp tearing from his throat as he calmly wrote: **you did? How?**

**Draco, being on the run all my life makes me gather a few attributes to myself. One of which is that I am not a deep sleeper. The smallest disturbance wakes me up.**

**Oh...** Was all he could write that night before folding the piece of parchment and going to sleep with his cheeks burning uncomfortably.

Over the next couple of weeks, they chatted and Draco couldn't quite believe it but the more he wrote to Harry, the more he loved the boy. He never thought Harry had a sense of humor but as it turns out, he did.

They never spoke about anything serious, much like those conversations he'd had with Ron back at Dumstrung but that was a long time ago and it didn't matter anymore.

What caught his attention however was Harry's behavior towards him. When they met, the boy showed no indication whatsoever of familiarity.

The more he thought about it, the less sense it made. He kept thinking about it till he couldn't stand it anymore so he rolled over onto his stomach one night in bed and pulled out the parchment. **Hey, are you there?**

**I'm always here...**

**Can I ask you something?**

**You never ask for permission, why now?**

**It's pretty important**

**Okay then…knock yourself out**

**When I see you tomorrow, can I talk to you? **

**Okay **

**Just that?**

**Yes. Were you expecting something else?**

**Sort of. Why don't you speak to me when we meet? You don't even look my way**

**Sorry.**

**It still doesn't answer my question**

**Can I ask you one of my own?**

**Uh... Yeah.**

**Which Harry do you prefer? The one you see or the one who writes to you every night?**

**I like the one who writes to me for obvious reasons but it's the same person so how can I choose if I have to?**

**So what's your answer?**

**I like the one who writes to me every night. That's the honest truth.**

**Okay then… do what you must, and good night, Draco**

That was the last message he'd gotten from Harry that night before he curled up and went to sleep.

Harry stopped at the entrance to transfigurations, Ron and Hermione entered and turned to look at him curiously. "Are you coming, Harry?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah in a moment. Just go ahead, I'll join you soon."

Hermione smiled and nodded, turning around to go. Harry stood there longer than expected. _Where the hell is, Malfoy?_ He frowned, looking at his watch and back up to see the boy moving towards him. With a smile on his face. Oh _God…_ he groaned.

Draco stepped in front of him and flashed a shy grin. "Hello, Harry, are you waiting for me?"

"I was. I wanted to give you a piece of advice. Think hard and fast about this and you'll realize it's true. I honestly don't know how you could have missed it but really, put everything you feel aside and think. If I know one thing about you, I know you're not stupid." Harry finished and left, entering the classroom without a single glance back.

Draco stood there, uncertain. If he wasn't so confused, he'd actually be flattered that Harry thought he was smart. "What was that?!" his brain screamed.

When they had agreed to talk the previous night, he'd envisioned a couple of scenarios but not even in his wildest dreams could he have seen this coming.

And that advice? Which part of the whole thing was the advice? Because he could have sworn in that moment, he didn't feel advised. He felt raped.

Jeez, suddenly he didn't feel like being anywhere around the boy. He walked back to his room and spent the entire day locked in there. Even after practically thinking the entire day away, he wasn't any close to deciphering Harry's coded message. Why didn't he just come out and say whatever it is? Damnit.

His mates had retired to their rooms after the day's activities but he barely noticed as he was too lost in thought thinking about what Harry said. He reached for the parchment and was surprised to see several **hey**s and **are you there?**s.

**"I'm fine."** He wrote reluctantly.

**Finally **was all Harry wrote, then after a while, he added:** I looked for you everywhere today but you were nowhere. You seemed to have vanished and I was worried you weren't feeling well or that maybe something happened to you**

**Nothing happened to me.**

**Okay… I just got worried. I don't remember a time when I didn't see you at all all day.**

**You didn't?** Draco frowned, his confusion levels rising past the normal point.

**Yes. And I looked everywhere for you.**

His frown deepened further. He had spoken to Harry today or had he? He tried one last resort**. I was in transfigurations.**

**You were? I didn't see you, and believe me, I looked. Not as if there's a lot of us for you to get lost in. what's going on, Draco?**

Draco sighed as he felt a migraine coming**. Sorry then, hey, I'm not so well. I want to go to sleep now.**

**Draco, are you sure you'll be fine? I mean if there's something I can do to help… what I mean is, if anything happens, you'll tell me, right?**

**Yes of course I will. Goodnight, Harry.**

**Goodnight.**

Draco slumped against the pillows and sighed, the wheels in his head turning. He'd spoken to Harry. He was certain of that but Harry was saying otherwise.

His mind raced for possible explanations but the only one he reached wasn't valid. If Harry –or whoever- had used a glamouring spell, why would he walk into transfigurations still looking like harry and risking having two Harry's in the same room.

And even though polyjuice wears off, he still wouldn't validate it. Maybe Ron was behind all this. Maybe he thought it was funny to- "_RON! Oh my God, you son of a bitch!"_ he exclaimed and bolted up from the bed into a sitting position as the puzzle pieces in his head started to shift together

"The sick fuck!"


	4. chapter 4: wrong assumptions?

Wrong guy: chapter 4

Draco had lain in bed for the most part of the night, thinking about what he had concluded the previous night. And the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. The weirdest and most probably the scariest part of all that was that he had realized some time during the night that he was smiling at the thought.

That was wrong! He should be furious. Livid, even but no. no it seemed that kind of emotion was beyond his stupid brain because his face was cracking up with a fucking smile!

He had folded his parchment and pushed it far into his pillowcase. He did not want to be tempted to use it, not even to prove his hypothesis but he had a mind to make the son of a gun pay.

It has been two days since he spoke with Harry and even when he saw the trio outside, he didn't smile like he used to. Ron frowned when Draco passed by them in a huff but was about to shrug it off when harry turned questioning eyes on him, complete with the brow raise- that damned gesture!-

It infuriated him when harry looked at him that way. "Why are you looking at me?" he snapped and Harry sighed and just dropped the issue.

On the third night however, it was Draco whose curiosity won out. He had originally intended to avoid the parchment for _at least _a week but the curiosity was killing him so he reached into the pillow case and pulled out the parchment.

He read several worried messages from Harry and watched as they disappeared to be replaced by more current ones. He realized that the more current they got, the more frantic they became. He was staring at the parchment when he saw a message in progress.

**Draco please, can you at least tell me you're alright? I swear I'm going crazy here and I know the parchment is not ruined I'd have felt it. This is killing me. Can you at least tell me you're okay? What is wrong? Why do you act that way when you see me? Please… help me out here okay?**

**I'm fine.** Draco wrote, not sure how to feel about that and how to react to the excessive concern.

**Oh so you saw my messages?!**

**Obviously.** He wrote, and then added after second thought**. I just saw them.**

**Oh alright then. I'm glad you're okay**

**Why do you care, harry? I mean, what is it to you if I'm fine or not?** Draco wrote his heart in his throat as he waited for an answer.

**Do you realize how offensive that question was?** Was all the reply he got.

**I didn't mean it that way… answer me.**

**It's nothing. Forget it.**

**Would you prefer to tell it to me in person?**

**No! No please don't.**

**What happened to all that Gryffindor bravery and courage they pride you for?**

**W... oi stop trying to blackmail it out of me!**

**Just tell me.**

**Well, Dammit I l care about you okay? That's all.**

**No no that's not it. What were you writing? Remember you said noting can be erased?**

**I know. Now will you drop the damned issue?**

**TELL ME!**

**Oh what, you didn't have to yell that.**

**Just so you realize the gravity of the situation. Just tell me please**

**It's… well, it's just that I love you.**

Draco waited to see if there was going to be another message but none appeared. **Are you there? **Nothing. "Looks like someone bowed out." He muttered to himself and turned on his side to get settled for sleep. He had a smile on his face.

Tomorrow would be a great day, he thought, his smile growing wider.

Draco went by his morning routine whistling, much to the shock of his co prefect, Pansy, not that he was bothered. He hurried through his duties and hid in an empty classroom, waiting for his opportune moment.

He didn't have to wait for long as he heard the trio in a distance, approaching. He readjusted his position and saw Hermione chatting easily with Harry while Ron tugged behind as if he was bearing the weight of the world on those amazingly broad shoulders of his.

He waited for his moment and reached out to pull the bigger boy into the classroom with him. Startled, Ron snatched his hand back from him and frowned. "What the hell are you doing, Malfoy?"

"You know what I'm doing, Ron. Didn't you say I could talk to you when we meet outside?"

"You're nuts! When did I tell you something that twisted?!" Ron asked, his frown deepening.

"The parchment you gave me, it wasn't Harry's was it? It was yours all along, you sick twat! And I've been spending every night since then, talking to you." he said, without any sting behind the words, which probably surprised Ron from the look on his face but he still said nothing to affirm the claim.

Draco shut the door and stepped closer to the bigger boy, laying his palms on his biceps and standing on tiptoes to kiss Ron who still seemed too shocked to even breathe_. "At least he hadn't pushed you away."_ His optimistic side encouraged. _"Yet."_ His pessimistic side added almost silently as if in mockery.

Draco pulled back and smiled. "You know, you're supposed to say something because we have a class… Charms, to be precise."

When Ron still didn't say anything, Draco sighed and rolled his eyes. "You remember a few weeks ago when you asked me which of the Harrys I preferred and I said the one I spoke to? I meant that. I still do even after I found out it was you and not Harry. I've had time to analyze my feelings since I figured it out and Ron, what you said last night, I feel the same way. I love_ you_."

Ron still didn't respond, if anything, his frown deepened. Draco felt the bile rise in his throat. Oh god, what if I'm wrong? He panicked what if it's not him? Good lord how do you get out of a situation like this?

"I'm sorry for bothering you…" he stammered an apology. "Really sorry, Ron" he mumbled and turned to go, his face so heated he feared he'd be having a mild stroke soon.

A/N:: I initially wrote this story with just 4 chapters and it was supposed to end right in this scene but getting positive feedback fuels me on so I'll keep at it and see how far I can go with this. Thanks to the amazing readers for challenging me.

I hope I don't disappoint you.

PS. Reviews-positive or negative- are very much appreciated.


	5. Chapter 5: consequences

AN: oops, I am so sorry for that eternally loooong break. I had exams and the fear that I was not as prepared as I'd have liked to be gave me some sort of writer's block so I couldn't continue. I'm sorry. I hope you like this chapter…alright, here goes nothing…

Chapter 5: consequences

Draco walked out of the classroom, leaning the back of his head against the wall as he took in deep calming breaths. He swore profusely in his head, certain that his life was never going to be the same again.

There was no remedy for curing or even _surviving_ this kind of extreme embarrassment but he knew he'd be able to drink the pee of a centaur without second thought if it holds the promise of doing just that for him.

Saving him... Which was the entire point from the beginning. Oh fuck! His brain, the pessimist part of it, cussed loudly and he banged the back of his head against the wall, regretting it almost immediately when he felt the sharp pain shoot through his skull.

He sighed and pulled back, standing ramrod straight and looking around. He noticed Ron was yet to come out of the room... "Oh God, he must be horrified!" he muttered, making his way slowly to wherever his feet will carry him, his class was momentarily forgotten.

Flashbacks of Ron's face and expression when he'd kissed him kept assaulting him. I mean, could anybody look more horrified? He mused, his brain torturing him like never before.

He felt horrified. In fact, he was certain this is the most horrified he has been in his entire life! Which is uhh...? Eighteen years but still long enough to have seen things like Voldemort-just his face was horrifying-, or his stupid snake being fed as everyone watched on with straight expressions when that little shit literally tore people apart. Or oh, the first time, when he was eight years old and his father had taught him how to cast Avada Kedavra to kill a mouse.

Yes, he had been horrified then. So horrified, he had been sick to the stomach and spent two days puking whenever the memory came up but this… this new addition to his list of "First ten worst things I have seen, done and heard" had certainly kicked everyone and everything on its way and shot right to the top.

He groaned when he realized he was outside on the grounds of the school. "Amazing subconscious you got there, Draco" his brain quipped sarcastically and he rolled his eyes at himself, deciding to stay outside anyway.

He pulled out his wand and cast a disillusionment charm on himself before walking towards the lake and lying dejectedly in the grass by it. "Oh boy, could my life get any worse than this?" he mumbled, sighing deeply and closing his eyes tightly as the image of Ron's shocked expression filled his head. "Oh crap!"

Ron stood in the classroom, long minutes after Draco had left and he still couldn't move a muscle. He had been trying though. Trying to maybe be able to move, run after Draco and snog him senseless just so he'd know that he was right, and it was him.

That it has always been him. Loving him from a distance with the fear of the reaction of both their families stopping him from doing anything about it. It was not fair to live an ultimatum of choosing between your family and the one you love just because you fell in love.

And Ron was certain that was exactly what would have happened. How could a supporter of Voldemort be allowed in a relationship with a key follower of the light before the war? He was certain his mother would have wept and maybe even gotten herself sick which was typical of Molly when she didn't get her way with advising her kids.

And of course, there was that obvious and undeniable factor. The fact that Draco Malfoy had had the deadliest crash known in the history of the Wizarding world on Harry! And that had killed him but it had felt so much better when Harry had reassured him that he was straight and had no intentions whatsoever of ever dating Draco. That had felt good.

He had tried working his throat muscles and those had failed him too. When he finally managed to slowly turn around, it felt like centuries and Draco was obviously long gone. He sighed again and felt his muscles relax but the only thing he could manage was a soft "Draco"

"Oh I am so ruined!" he thought and headed out of the classroom. A quick glance at his wrist watch told him he was thirty five minutes late for class. No need to go now and earn a stupid detention when he could just go to madam Pomphrey and feign some sort of post- war trauma. Yeah, that always works. Besides, with the way his heart was alternating between beating three hundred times a minute and five times a minute at an extremely fast and extremely slow pace, he was certain that something was really wrong with him.

He headed to the infirmary, his mind blank and uncertain of what he can do as he was pretty certain that Draco has probably shelved his hypothesis as a false one with no correlation whatsoever between Ron and whoever writes to him at night.

"I really screwed up." He muttered as the image of Draco kissing him ever so softly, came into mind. It was a different kind of kiss than the ones he was used to. Different than when lavender was literally tearing at his lips with her teeth and tongue my God!

"I guess that's what it feels like when it's done with love and not teenage hormones." he whispers to himself and was about to smile when the evil part of his already mean brain added. "yes it is. But of course since you ruined any chances of him ever kissing you, here you are, on your way to the infirmary with a mild heart failure"

He gasped softly as his heartbeat sped up again. He wasn't sure what was causing it but this time, he was certain he didn't need to lie to madam Pomphrey about his heart and as wrong as that sounded to him in the circumstances, his heart needed to be checked. "Yeah right!" the evil part of his brain scoffed at him.

He made his way slowly to the infirmary, careful not to disturb his already disturbed heart and the more he thought about his heart, the weirder it felt and the faster his heart beat. By the time he got to the infirmary and pushed the door open, he was clenching his chest tightly as the palpitations got worse.

Madam Pomphrey heard him come in and peeked out of her room…or office, he never knew what that was, to see him in that position "Ronald Weasley" she said calmly as she stepped out and headed towards him.

The relief that washed through him had his knees going weak and as he sank to the floor and into oblivion; his last thought was "wow, my name does sound different when it's not coming from my mother or Hermione."

Harry sat in class, his nails drumming repeatedly against the surface of the table as he felt Hermione's eyes on him. It was a feeling he was very used to and yes, he could live happily _**without**_ it.

It wasn't the feeling he felt when she was looking at him tenderly in those moments when she thought he couldn't see her. He felt love for her too but he wasn't sure how to go about it however, he had more pressing things to deal with right now.

Like the questioning glare she had been drilling into the side of his head since lessons started and Ron didn't show up. He noticed, almost immediately, that neither did Draco. "wow, maybe those two managed to figure all that nonsense out" he thought, then his pervy brain added "and they're probably shacked up somewhere having amazing gay sex." He smiled at the thought before pouting "well it's not fair that Ron gets to have amazing sex with Draco while I sit through charms, enduring Hermione's death glare!"

He started packing his books immediately class was over and would have fled if Hermione hadn't pulled him back sharply till his bum hit the hard surface of the chair pretty hard. He was not an amused man when he turned to face Hermione and apparently, neither was she.

He glared at her but he couldn't keep up the act long enough, considering she was looking at him like he was a guilty little child caught with his hands down his pants, my God! She was well on her way to becoming Molly Weasley and the poor girl had no idea.

He would have laughed at the mental image that brought up, if it was another time but as it stood, it wasn't so he groaned loudly "What is it? And please stop glaring at me like I did something wrong!" he hissed at her.

That seemed to tone down the glare a little but she didn't entirely lose it. "Well, tell me, Harry Potter, where is your best friend? You know, the one called Ronald Weasley?" she asked.

_**To be continued…**_

Thank you all to my amazing readers…please R&R to let me know what you think. I hope you liked reading this, anyway. Thank you all.

:-*


	6. Chapter 6 - Chaos

Chapter 6: chaos

Harry scoffed at Hermione. He couldn't believe her…and that tone! "What do you mean exactly, by "your best friend"? Isn't he your best friend too? Are you suddenly forgetting the number of times you've group hugged both of us and said in that emotional girly voice "You guys are the best best friends in the entire world"?" he asked with a lousy imitation of Hermione's voice which had the witch's frown deepening.

"I'm sure I don't sound like that." She said disapprovingly

"Alright, fine you don't. But that's not the real issue here. The issue is that when it comes to disturbing things, I am Ron's best friend and you're just a friend but when it comes to all the fun things, then we're some sort of threesome right?"

Hermione squinted her eyes at him, obviously preparing a reply for him. "You're boys, you sleep in the same room so yes I get to ask either one of you when one of you can't be found. Besides, that is beside the point. The point is, we can't find Ron and we need to start looking for him."

Now it was Harry's turn to frown. "We can't find Ron? Hermione it's been two hours and he missed _one_ class! It's not like we have searched Hogwarts grounds for the past year and we can't find him. That is what will be worrying but it's just a lesson! Just one."

She looked at him as if he was a stupid boy and sighed indulgently. "You don't get it, Harry…" she started before harry cut in "Well please help me do"

"I was going to!" she snapped. "So yes, as I was saying before the rude interruption, Ron won't miss class because he really hates it when I start acting like his mother so he never misses classes and he did today."

"Which should tell you that he might have an extremely good reason?"

"Or maybe he was taken"

"Taken? Hermione, seriously, taken by who, pray tell. Snatchers, perhaps? Death eaters? Oh yes, there's been a break in Azkhaban and all the graves of the dead death eaters has been overturned so they're walking about just you know, taking people. Breaking the Hogwarts wards…or oh wait, some of them even go to school with us, poly juiced as their children!" he finished, feeling just as mortified as Hermione looked.

She was staring at him like he just grew a set of giant wings and flew beyond the horizon. And the look in her eyes warned him to do damage control before she starts talking. "Of course, what I mean is, he's safe in Hogwarts. We all are. So he's probably just overwhelmed because lately he gets that way a lot. Look, Hermione, if it helps at all, I promise to go find him if he has still not shown up by lunch okay?"

She looked like she was about to argue but thought better of it and nodded slowly, picking up her bag even though the worry in her expression didn't fade. He stood up from the chair and held her hand, slowly rubbing it. "He's okay, Hermione. Or he'll be okay."

She smiled at him and nodded, squeezing his hand right back and when she made to pull her hand back but he held on and smiled down at her when she looked up at him with a questioning brow.

They walked hand in hand to professor Binn's history class, neither of them anticipating the lesson at all especially since Hermione found Harry's calmness about Ron's absence very suspicious.

It would have been the understatement of the year if he'd said he had been shocked when Hermione dragged him to the back of the class considering she was the one who always insisted that they all sat in the front of the class.

The lesson went on for an hour and Harry was on edge the whole time. He was certain Hermione was up to something and whatever it was, he would very much like to find out sometime during the next few minutes.

Hermione, not one to disappoint, muttered after a while of silence while still jotting down notes from professor Binn's lecture. "Draco's not here too. In fact, now that I think about it, he wasn't in Charms either." She uttered casually, not looking up from her book.

Harry made a show of looking around before replying "Yes…it seems he isn't either."

Hermione looked up at him and shook her head with that indulgent look that she has, setting his teeth on edge. "Are you trying to tell me that you, Harry Potter, didn't notice the absence of Draco Malfoy in class? Oh please, you know how many years it takes to break a habit that you built in six years? Yes, it takes a much longer time so I don't buy that."

Harry scratched his head nervously, watching Hermione from his peripheral vision as she went back to writing her notes. He was at a loss of words and had no idea what to do or say except shift uncomfortably in his seat.

She sat up quickly, turning to look at harry almost immediately. "Wait, you think that Draco finally noticed him and they both decided to ditch school today? But couldn't they do it after classes? I mean, school is important."

"Hermione, it's just one day." Harry replied by default before what Hermione had said sunk in. she knew? But how could she…? "Mione, what did you…?" he couldn't finish his question no matter how much he tried.

"What did I..? Oh you mean about Ron liking Draco? Harry, I'm not stupid and I'm a very observant person. I am also good at putting two and two together so yes, I know Ron likes Draco. He's probably even in love with him but the last time I checked, Draco had the hots for you so…"

"The hots?" Harry asked and choked slightly on nothing. "My God, Mione, please refrain from using such phrases in the future. What hots?"

Hermione just rolled her eyes at him before turning back to her book. "Well, what do you call the look he gets in his eyes when he sees you?"

"I didn't know you spent your time looking into the eyes of Draco Malfoy" harry said cynically.

"I don't. it's just the look he has as if he'd like to rip your clothes off and have his way with you right there and then is pretty hard not to notice. Especially with all the sexual vibes that he gives!" she spat out, obviously not thrilled.

"And you don't like it." Harry said that in a way that made it sound like a question.

Hermione sat there silently for a while. She had stopped making the notes but she wasn't looking at him either, then slowly she shook her head. "No."

"Why?" harry asked simply. He knew he was pushing it, but somehow he had been blessed with this opportunity and he'd kill himself if he doesn't seize it.

She just shrugged though, and went back to what she was doing, which was writing notes as if history was the best thing that happened to her so he mumbled: "Because you want it to be you? You want to be the only one who gets to look at me like that? Or at least to be the one among all the people who look at me that way that I actually look back at with that same look in my eyes?"

Her back stiffened and her shoulders tensed up. Her hand had stopped moving on the book and she was gripping her quill so tight, her knuckles looked pale from the effort. She seemed to be weighing her odds before slowly nodding. Harry let out a long breath he hadn't known he'd been holding and he reached over to touch Hermione's hand on the table.

She looked back at him, confusion evident in her eyes as well as a cocktail of worry, uncertainty, fear, doubt and a few other emotions he wasn't quite conversant with and simply nodded before whispering: "I will."

She smiled tentatively at first before right before his eyes, it transformed into a bright smile. She squeezed his hand, looking around regrettably. Harry knew why so she just pulled her into a hug and hugged her tightly. He pulled back and kissed her slowly. It was innocent and soft but he knew to pull back quickly because even though everyone was asleep, it was still a class and for some reason, even Binns was dozing off.

No one was more relieved than he when the time was up and they were dismissed. He walked hand in hand with her, smiling in his head at the looks they got from people and how the girls seemed to glare at Hermione while they boys just looked on in envy. "Yeah in your face, people!" his brain mocked and he chuckles lightly, turning around to see Hermione staring at him.

"Oh it's nothing. I'm just thinking we should probably walk around these days with protective spells around us, because I think we gathered a few enemies in the last five minutes." Hermione just shrugged. "I'm sure we can take them down. We're the power couple. I'd say the brains and the heart but that's just wrong"

"It is?" Harry asked, doubtful. "Why?"

"Because you see, even if you and I are a pair, Ron is part of our whole being and we all know he strategizes than anyone we know so he is the brains. I'm the eyes…for obvious reasons, no pun intended." she said, looking at his glasses.

"None taken." He replied with a sly grin.

"Great. And you are of course, the heart." She finished with a smile. Harry smiled back at her, pulling her close and swinging an arm around her shoulders. She slipped hers around his waist before looking up at him: "well, speaking of the brain, it is time for lunch."

"And we'll see him soon, hopefully." Harry said and kissed the top of her head as they made their way to the great hall.

**A/N: yes yes i know i am a mean person but bright side is, yay….another chapter! I hope you like it and as always, R&R please...I would really appreciate it. And yes, I know it was mainly Harry/Hermione but I introduced their love story in the previous chapter and I thought I should develop it. Thank you for reading.**

**Merci beaucoup**

**Gracias!**

**:-***


	7. Chapter 7: payment?

Chapter 7: payment?

She hadn't been so surprised when she'd peeped through the crack in her door and found that Ronald was standing in the infirmary since over the last few months, he'd been a regular visitor in the hospital wing.

It was a headache, a nightmare or those constant itches he got in his midsection. The point is, for the past six and a half months, Ronald Weasley was always tormented by some kind of ailment.

It was however new to see the boy comes in, clutching his chest in that manner as if letting go could consequently mean letting go of all hope to live again and keep breathing.

Then he'd collapsed. She'd reached for her wand to cast a cushioning spell but that had been too late so she cast _wingardium leviosa_ on his immobile body and floated him over to a bed. His heart rate had been spiraling out of control like never before and it bothered her.

She pulled out her kit, herbs and potions as well as syringes. Her wand ghosted over the boy's limp form, muttering a diagnostic spell to determine what the cause of the heart palpitations was. She'd washed him to get him cooled and given him potions on a half hourly basis...

Nothing seems to be working and she felt on edge. The only good news was that he didn't seem to be getting any worse either.

Harry sat down at the table with Hermione, trying to enjoy his meal but Hermione was right. Ron not showing up for lunch was on his top five unlikely things to ever happen and was probably on the top of the list.

He loved food more than anything else though...he paused in his thoughts. There is a possibility that Ron loved something more... Draco. Loved him enough to miss three square meals a day just to be with him.

He breathed a sigh of relief, his nerves slowly calming down till they almost reached the optimum point. Almost, because in the next moment, right before he happily went back to his meal, Draco stormed into the hall.

And he didn't look pleased, or happy. Harry frowned, turning to fully look at Draco's seemingly sulky progress towards his House table and how he plopped down on the bench, ignoring the curious and slightly worried look from his house mates who looked smart enough not to ask anything.(400)

His movement caused Hermione to look over at him and subsequently follow his gaze to where Draco sat with his back to them. He saw confusion settle onto her features as she looked from Draco's back to his face but he said nothing, waiting for her to figure it out on her own.

She did, just like he had expected and grabbed his arm, gripping it tightly; which he hadn't expected. At least not entirely. "If Draco is here and he's not happy..." she started to say before Harry cut in, "yeah I know...it could mean many things: that he wasn't with Ron all day till now..."

"Or that maybe Ron told him but he rejected him."

"Or maybe he found at that Ron tricked him" Harry muttered, more to himself that to Hermione but she heard it anyway.

"Wait, what? Ron tricked him? How? And why in the name of Merlin would he do that?"

"Long story" Harry shrugged it off, and at Hermione's deep frown, he added to save his own skin "which I'll tell you all about, later... when we figure out what happened to Ron and where he is."  
She nodded in understanding, looking like she'd call him on that offer soon.

Draco hadn't noticed the time as he lay there in the grass trying to think of anything but Ron but somehow, by some extremely weird reason, his thoughts kept wandering to the ginger red haired, freckled masculine compact of a boy. It didn't do well on his senses as time spent with Ron over the years kept rushing through his head, abusing him and making him feel even worse than he already did.  
What's worse, the more he thought about it, the more certain he was that Ron did love him. All the evidence points to it...well, except the most recent one where he'd kissed Ron and the boy had just looked at him like he had horns or some other new bodily development that was not at all flattering to his being..

He repeated the question; "why didn't you kiss me, Ron?" in his head over and over again like a mantra and no matter how many hours he'd been doing that, he'd realized that he was no closer to figuring out the reason than he was when he first started chanting that.

He'd walked to the great(800) hall, half terrified and half confused; terrified because he feared Ron has told his friends about what happened between them and they were going to make fun of him indeed, and confused because somehow, the other option seemed to bring just that emotion out of him. What if Ron didn't tell anybody? Could it be because he likes him on some level, or because he's a better person? Or just because he loved Draco too?  
He shook his head when he got to the doors to the great hall, opting to go with his usual arrogant stance as it had never failed him. He pushed the door open and... nothing.

Basically, no snickers and giggles as well as sneers and growls, mostly from the Slytherins but that's it, nothing! He didn't dare to look at the Gryffindor table but he was certain he felt eyes on him the moment he sat down. He fiddled with his braised rice, shifting uncomfortably in his seat and snapping "What?" at the people bold enough to keep giving him worried looks. Disgusting.

But the ones he really felt like snapping at were far across the room and he couldn't even risk looking back at them for fear of catching Ron's(1000) eye and making a total fool out of himself.  
Pansy looked at him again and he snapped "what?" at her, but being who she is, she just frowned at him and asked him as if she couldn't care less about his mood. "You weren't in class all day today. Are you going to say where you were?"

"Obviously not, I'm not. But if you want to know...And you're so concerned, I'll have you know I wasn't doing anything sinister- at least, not as sinister as I'd like" he added, speaking undertone. She heard it anyway and rolled her eyes, knowing when to push him and exactly when to just back off. Draco tapped his foot noisily on the floor, giving up his resolve slipping and he finally lifted his gaze to look over at the Gryffindor table to see Harry and Hermione watching him, frowns on their respective faces but for some reason, he felt they weren't directed at him.

The duo quickly looked away as if he'd caught them with their hands down their pants and he scoffed. Do those two even have an ounce of subtlety in their bones? Those two? He paused, turning back to look over at them again. Yes, normally when he used "those two", he was referring to Ron and Harry and nothing at all to do with Hermione so where was Ron?

He was aware he was openly staring at them now, not having a care in the world as to what anyone thought and then suddenly he understood the worried looks he'd seen on their faces when he'd first looked over. What, Ron never went to class? That had been unexpected but so was the nagging feeling that his best friends expected him, Draco, to know about Ron's whereabouts,(1300) which in that moment will be great but he didn't and he'd managed to lose his appetite in the middle of all this confusion with the Golden trio..

"I'm fucked" he thought to himself and groaned, dropping his fork noisily back in his food. "This is all my fault!"  
Harry and Hermione frowned at each other, feeling they've got all the proof they need, to be certain that Draco didn't know where Ron was and that they could officially start getting worried. They stood up in unison, picking up their books and were about to go and search for him when they heard and owl screech. They turned and saw it drop a note in front of them: _**Mr. Potter, Miss Granger, your friend Ronald is in the infirmary at this instant and I'd like you both here immediately**_" the note simply read. They looked at each other and literally run out of the door, causing heads, including Draco's, to turn and look after them.

Draco looked around and groaned, damning it all to hell before he got up and rushed after them, no idea what was going on and absolutely no clue as to how to explain things to Harry and Hermione if they asked or what he'd say to(1400) Ron if he met him first.(1406 words)

A/N:: I kind of wrote this chapter in a slight hurry and I feel it could honestly have been better so I might re-edit and make adjustments to it, but for now, I hope you have some fun reading this..Thanks for the support and R&R please.. Luvs you all, Muah Muah!


	8. Chapter 8: not mine

**Chapter 8: too much...**

Harry and Hermione rushed through the halls and sped up and down stairs till they reached the infirmary.

Somehow, they knew they've taken this route so many times in the past five months since at least, every week, Ron found himself there but never have they been summoned to the infirmary, no matter what, because of Ron and that in itself was very disturbing indeed. 

They stopped at the door, taking deep calming breaths, steeling themselves for the worse and silently cursing Madam Pomphrey for not being as specific as she could be. 

Finally, after what felt like an hour, they pushed the door open and hurried into the room. Their eyes immediately fell on Ron on the bed by the window and he looked terribly pale, for lack of a more intense word. 

Hermione grabbed hold of Harry's hand involuntarily. A feeling of deja vu washing over her except that then, she had clenched Ron's hand and it was Harry in that bed. 

Their attention was drawn to a noise coming from the side of the room and they turned to see Madam Pomphrey, an uncharacteristic frown marring her features, which they immediately interpreted as bad news and that didn't help to calm them down. 

"Ahem... Madam Pomphrey… you called for us?" Harry asked, trying to remain as calm as possible. 

She looked up, obviously not having noticed their presence as her eyes widened for only a second and they were controlled once more. She nodded, closing the file she held in her hand and moving closer to them. "Yes, I believe I did...and by now, I'm sure you know why I had to call you" 

"What is wrong with him? And why does he look like that?" Hermione asked, close to hysterics now. 

Harry squeezed her hand gently, trying to calm her down as Mrs. Pomphrey looked between them and Ron's immobile form on the bed. "That is what I would also like to know" 

"But aren't you the nurse?" Harry asked, the same time Hermione asked "are you trying to say you have no idea what is wrong with him?"  
She just shrugged as a way of affirmation. 

"Well, there is obviously something wrong with him, because normal people are not supposed to look like that. Like death." Hermione said, moving slowly towards Ron's bed and touching his damp forehead, her fingers gently pushing away his wet locks from his forehead. 

"Well, we have to tell Dumbledore then" Harry suggested, a feeling of helplessness crawling into his gut. 

"We shall not bother Professor Dumbledore" she said, stressing on the 'professor' as a way of correction, it would seem. Better than Snape does it or even McGonagall but still, the warning was quite clear in the tone. And he got it quite clearly. 

"Well, why not?" 

"Well, in case you haven't noticed, the professor hasn't been himself lately. He has too many issues to deal with, burdens of family and dealing with the MOM. Not to mention that his age has finally caught up with him so we will do him a great deal of good if we would not add more to his woes" 

Harry sighed, feeling suddenly awful. Of course he had noticed something different about the man but he hadn't known what... And it's been a while since he visited the man. The thought of losing him, the one person he knew for a fact he could always count on for protection and good counsel, was almost as scary as the thought of losing Ron, the first real friend he has, who gave him a(600) family without even realizing it and he wasn't ready to sacrifice one for the other.

"Alright, so what do you want us to do?" 

Pomphrey nodded slowly, a small smile playing at the corners of her lips.  
Draco had followed them, trying to remain unnoticed though after a while, he figured he didn't have to try so hard since those two were so preoccupied with reaching their destination, they wouldn't notice if a dragon walked straight into their path. 

However, the closer they seemed to get, the more worried he became. The infirmary?! 

What the hell was Ron doing there? When he'd spoken to him that morning, the boy had been fine. 

He stopped in front of the door and leaned his ear in, eavesdropping to know what was wrong with Ron but then Pomphrey had said she didn't know what.  
He'd almost smiled when both Harry and Hermione voiced out his thoughts exactly but he was just too worried to even crack a genuine smile. 

He pulled back after a while, craning his neck this way and that to remove the crink in it. Wow, the things you learn when you eavesdrop on a Harry Potter conversation! Dumbledore wasn't well? And why is madam Pomphrey talking as if Harry and Dumbledore were the best of friends? 

He shook his head to clear it, leaning in to listen again. It seemed as if for some reason, Pomphrey thought whatever was bothering Ron could be a residue from their time spent on the run so she required every single detail from the couple and wow. That was a lot. He looked at his watch and realized he was an hour and a few minutes late for his last class of the day… potions. He was definitely getting in trouble for that so he just shrugged and decided to stay right through to the end. 

"I don't see how anything that happened to him then could affect him in this manner." Madam Pomphrey said after a while, muttering it more to herself than to them and causing Harry and Hermione to look at each other with deep frowns. 

"So what exactly are you saying?" 

"I'm saying that those occasional jabs he gets in his rib cage, that could actually have been caused by residual side effects from being splinched and..." 

"But I used dittany potion..." Hermione cut in. "I mean, I personally applied it and he said he was fine." 

"I don't doubt it...however, no matter how potent a potion is, like the ones Severus makes, a sick or wounded person should be allowed time to recover." 

"But we didn't have time" Harry chipped in glumly. 

"No you didn't and in that circumstance, I do understand. However the human anatomy has its own set of rules and it doesn't smile when they are not followed. You did your best and Ron was fine. But the jabs will continue." 

"Can something be done about it then?" 

"I don't think so. Since both of you are conversant with the muggle world, I'll use this as an example. When someone dislocates or twists a joint in their body and it's not set properly in place before bandaging, the joint will heal, yes, but it's never the same, and there will be pain, sometimes unbearable pain when the person uses it. Unless it is operated on again" 

"You're saying Ron could need operation? But that's something he'll have to go to St. Mungos for!" Hermione exclaimed. 

"I'm saying, I don't know if even St. Mungos can make skin disappear and regrow them so we have to wait. Until then, we have more pressing matters at hand." 

Pressing matters? Draco mused, scoffing from outside the door. More pressing matters? What the hell could be more pressing than that? 

"Yes, you're right." he head Harry say, almost in a whisper and followed by an exasperated sigh. 

"This is the first time he's come in here with a problem pertaining to his heart." he heard madam Pomphrey saying, and then there was movement inside the room before what she had said sank in. His heart? What the...enough of this! He thought as he barged into the room. "What the hell is wrong with Ron's heart?" he asked all the heads in the room turning to look at him. 

"Mr. Malfoy, I don't recall..."madam Pomphrey started to say. 

"Please, I need to know." 

She looked over at Harry and Hermione and they both shrugged in permission. Something that would have aroused curiosity in him but he was focused on more important things. 

"Well, he always..." 

"I know about that. I've been out there a long time." 

"You've been eavesdropping?" all three of them asked with different levels of incredulousness in their voices. 

"Is that really important right now?" 

"Well, to cut matters short, his heart is behaving in a strange way… abnormal beats, palpitations and nothing works on him." Madam Pomphrey provided. 

"But when I saw him this..." he started to say before his eyes finally fell on Ron.

"Oh crap, he certainly didn't look like that this morning!" 

"You saw him this morning?" Harry asked. 

"yes, I did… we uhm… we talked for a while." he replied absentmindedly, his fingers moving to replace Hermione's in Ron's hair, not caring what anyone thought. 

Harry cleared his throat noisily. "Uh… you just talked?" 

Draco pulled back a moment from worrying about Ron and blushed scarlet. "Yes. Yes, we just talked. Is that so hard to believe?" he asked, looking down at Ron's pale white face, what Hermione had said earlier on creeping back into his head. "Like death."

**A/N: another update. I hope you like this one too...as always, R&R please. And thanks a lot for your support. Luv you all... muah!**


	9. Chapter 9: mental

Chapter 9: mental…

It hadn't been his most fun experience to tell them in detail what had transpired between Ron and him earlier that day. In fact, it was an experience he was certain he'd be able to live happily without.

Especially since madam Pomphrey was looking at him intently, obviously hanging onto every word he was saying as if the answer to Ron's predicament was hidden right there in his narration. Never mind him re- living the most embarrassing moment of his existence!

Madam Pomphrey had just frowned and retreated to her office… or whatever that little cubicle in the back was. It was almost time for supper by the time she came back out, looking like she got the answer to a million dollar question which had all three of them asking in unison: "what is it?"

She just walked to Ron, brushing her knuckles softly on his still damp forehead. Yes, as if we all haven't been doing just that for the past god- knows- how- long hours! His brain screamed. _'Too bad she can't_ _hear you'_ the other part of his brain replied sarcastically... _'I can't believe you're both arguing in this situation!'_ another voice in his head said and he'd had enough then. _'Shut up!'_ he took control of his thought processes, clenching his teeth and grinding them together.

Unable to stand it any longer, he snapped out at madam Pomphrey, saying what Harry and Hermione both seem too flabbergasted to say... "How in the name of hell does you touching his forehead help? Because if it does, we've all been doing that for the past three or so hours."

She just looked at him indulgingly... Yes, indulgingly! - And slowly shook her head, looking across at them. "I don't think there is something wrong with Mr. Weasley" she says finally, causing a unanimous frown on their faces.

"Look at him!" Hermione exclaimed. "He doesn't look like there's nothing wrong with him! He looks dead."

"What I mean is there is nothing physiologically wrong with him."

Harry's frown deepened further. "And what... What exactly does that mean?"

"It means, whatever is happening to your friend, is not biological and obviously not curable by medicine. It's just a mental thing."

"Well, if it is a mental thing, how come we get to see it? Shouldn't he be like just disillusioned or something?" Draco asked, getting more confused by the hour.

"It depends... He obviously started thinking it, so his body started reacting in kind and the side effects are still happening because of the amount of assertion caused by his brain."

"This is all my fault" Draco whispered...

"It doesn't matter whose fault it is." Harry answered slowly. "Nothing matters right now more than getting Ron well again so how the hell do we stop a mental attack that is obviously not entirely mental before it stretches into something a lot worse?" He mumbles, almost to himself.

"I'm suggesting we shock him back to consciousness" Hermione contributed, earning her a nod from madam Pomphrey as she stretched her wand towards Ron, did the characteristic swish and flick and chanted out _**Enervate.**_

The power from her spell leaving it and hitting Ron right on, on his chest and the boy jolted up from his lifeless state on the bed, the suddenness of the movement causing them to jump back.

His feverish eyes settled on them, though it didn't seem to notice who they are, his skin gaining a little more colour before he fainted back onto the bedding, this time, his breathing evened out and his complexion not as pale as he was before... 

They all let out relieved breaths they hadn't realized they'd been holding, Draco being close to his bed, touched his arm tentatively, feeling it getting a little warmer than before. He smiles slightly, sitting by Ron on the bed for a while while both Harry and Hermione fussed over their best friend, apparently overjoyed that he was well once more... Or at least, he was well on his way.

Madam Pomphrey, who had retreated to her small office after Ron 7 had woken up and she had ensured his comfort, walked back inside, this time, not with a confused look or a worried one like she had been wearing for the past hour but with her normal calm yet stern look that said... "_Crisis averted and now I'm back to being your teacher"_

They all straightened up when she cleared her throat and they looked at her. "now that your friend is well on his way to recovery, I will write you permission notes so you won't get into trouble with your teachers for missing classes however, I refuse to 8 condone you missing your supper as well as other school duties so you should immediately go to the great hall for your meals and come back her only when it's time for visits, am I clear?"

They nodded their heads... A little too agreeable for Draco's comfort. If he knew something at all about Harry Potter, it was that he hardly ever just accepts instructions especially where his friends are concerned. He'd know that, yes. After all those years he'd spent studying the boy.

Yet still, he said nothing, his fingers brushing slowly over Ron's knuckles as he walked out of the 9 room. Harry and Hermione followed after him, their hands joined and they seemed to retreat closer into themselves when they got out as if creating a boundary so Draco won't be able to cross. He understood that, walking briskly ahead of them till he got to the great hall, heading straight to the table for his food and this time, choosing to ignore the curious stares of his mates, even Pansy's though he was so tempted to punch something. Crabbe's face would be a good place to start, except Vincent, in all his years of knowing Draco, has learnt a few things...like not looking at him when he was obviously in a crappy mood.  
Harry walked with Hermione at a slower pace, the relief they felt was very numbing. When they got to the doors of the great hall, Hermione whispered: "you know Draco is also going to be there when we visit him later, don't you?"

"I know. That's why we won't visit him tonight." Harry answered simply.

"What?" she asked incredulously, almost pulling her hand out of his, but Harry held on.

"At least, not where Madam Pomphrey is concerned." he added, lifting a brow slowly and waiting for her to catch on.

Her eyes lit up when she did. "The invisibility cloak. Should we go before or after visiting hours then?"

"We should go before... Your prefect rounds will be time consuming tonight because both Draco and Ron will be predisposed and I might hide under the cloak just to keep you company." he said with a wink.

She smiles broadly and leans in to kiss him, pulling back and opening the doors to the great hall and walking to their table for their food too, only person noticing 12 the mischievous look on their faces was

Draco and for some reason, knowing he had been right in his estimate made him smile to himself.  
He was looking forward to seeing Ron tonight, and nothing at all could dampen the relief he felt at that moment.

A/N : well, this is the ninth chapter and I have decided to make it a 10 chapter fic so one more chapter to go.. Apologies if this seems a little shorter than normal. I still hope you enjoy it and take time to R&R ..  
Luv you all... Muah!  
:-*


End file.
